Some people are at a greater risk for developing a serious foodborne illness. 

The immune systems of people with certain illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS are often weakened. These groups are more susceptible to many types of infection, including food poisoning. 

Here are some things you might not know about certain at-risk populations and food safety:

• According to the CDC, people over 74 years of age are five times more likely to die from infectious diarrheal disease than those in the next highest group (children under four years of age)

• Salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis are more common in patients with diabetes than in the general population

• Patients with diabetes are about 25 times more likely to develop listeriosis than non-diabetics are

• Conditions that increase iron availability in the body, like liver dysfunction, can stimulate growth of several foodborne pathogens, including Bacillus, Clostridium, Listeria, Campylobacter,  and Salmonella